Carry Me Home
by Enchantable
Summary: Post 2x20. All eyes are on the ritual, but what happens outside of it will push Tyler and Caroline to the breaking point.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok so after the self-indulgent whumping of 'Teenage Dream' I wanted to do a proper 2x20 fic. Also I didn't want to keep up the standards of 10,000+ words a chapter.**

**So in multiple parts here is my post 2x20 fic. This WILL be complete before thursday so get ready. **

**Oh and also, we've seen that werewolves like Jules have some control and even Mason was able to recognize and listen to Tyler (someone he cared about) so keep that in mind. **

**Onwards!**

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The massive brown wolf paced back and forth in front of the cellar gate, a growl caught behind his peeled back lips.

Behind her, Caroline could hear Matt's labored breathing as he stared at the wolf form of his ex-best friend but Caroline couldn't find it in herself to comfort him. She couldn't even look away from the bright gold gaze of the wolf pacing back and forth there. Her head was still spinning from the vervain coursing through her veins and she could feel them rubbing together. She felt pained and miserable but the fear coursing through her was enough to keep her on her feet.

Without warning Tyler lunged forward with a snarl, throwing his full weight against the bars.

Caroline staggered back, clapping her hands over her mouth to contain her sob as the wolf snapped at her. She heard Matt's pulse jump and forced herself to stand still. If she jumped back again or let him see how terrified she was, then he was going to shoot Tyler. Landing on his paws, Tyler snapped again in frustration, growling again as if she was a snack he was being denied.

"Caroline?" Matt's voice came out, filled with fear, "Car-what do I do?"

"Nothing!" Caroline said, her head snapping to look at him. Her head spun with the vervain, "nothing," she repeated, "it's Tyler. It'll be fine."

"That's not Tyler," Matt said, the gun raising.

"Like I'm not Caroline?" she snapped.

Surprise and guilt flew across his face, the gun lowering slightly. In the background they heard the wolf continue to growl and pace across the dusty floor. Much to her shame, Caroline felt tears threaten her at the sight of Matt holding the rifle. Matt, who it seemed had not been compelled like she thought. Which meant he'd been on vervain. Which also meant he had been lying to her for weeks since she thought he'd compelled her. Someone had given him the bullets, someone who knew about killing Vampires.

Someone like-

"Are you working with my mom?" she asked.

Matt looked down guiltily, confirming her horrible suspicion. Caroline inhaled sharply, feeling a sickness that had nothing to do with the vervain. Matt was working with her mom, both of whom knew everything including who was a vampire, who was a werewolf. They knew _everything._

"Caroline," Matt began, "I can explain," he continued, "I can-" his eyes widened, "Caroline look out!" he shouted raising his rifle.

"No!" Caroline cried.

But it was too late. She could see Matt's finger tightening on the trigger quicker than her own desperate shout could reach his ears. He was going to shoot Tyler. Tyler who'd just come back to Mystic Falls, who spent the whole time he was away thinking she hated him. Suddenly it didn't matter that the bullet was intended for her, that it would do more damage to her than to the werewolf behind her.

Without a second thought she jumped in front of the gate.

The bullet slammed into her with all the force of a wooden tipped rifle bullet. It was more powerful, stronger and fired at a much closer range. The force of it knocked the air from her lungs and ripped a hole in her favorite t-shirt. Perhaps it was her weight, perhaps it was the fact Tyler had been slamming into the gates. Whatever the reason the bullet slammed her into the gate with all the force of a ten ton truck.

And with a groan, the last thing separating her from Tyler Lockwood crashed.

Caroline gasped as the air was knocked from her lungs. An ache radiated through her but the agony in her shoulder was blinding. With a choked sob, realized that the bullet was hollow. Hollow and filled with vervain. She fought to press her legs to the ground, to will her body to move. But her legs were filled with jelly and every attempted movement hurt. This wasn't the sting of bullets as they ripped through her flesh, this was liquid fire burning her from the inside out.

"Caroline-" Matt took a step forward.

With a furious snarl, Tyler jumped in front of her, planting his feet and snarling at Matt. Matt raised the gun but Tyler leapt forward, knocking the boy off his feet. Dimly Caroline heard the shot go off but there was no yelp from Tyler so she assumed he hadn't been hit. Her heart leapt in apprehension which pushed the vervain through her veins even more quickly. Her back arched as a sickening sound was torn from her lips, her eyes squeezing shut in a failed attempt to block out the agony.

The next instant the wolf was on top of her.

Caroline sucked in her breath, her eyes flying open to meet the bright gold orbs of the wolf. His lips peeled back in a snarl as he stood on top of her, one paw pressed to her shoulder as his hind legs stood on the dirt on either side of her. Slowly the wolf lowered his head, the growl quieting as he sniffed her, his breath hot on the skin of her cheek. Caroline squeezed her eyes shut, turning her cheek to the side as the wolf's breath coursed along her skin.

Something cold pressed against her neck.

Caroline gasped, her eyes flying open as she realized it was Tyler's nose against her neck. Tyler's head flew up as he sneezed, wet droplets flying across her face. Caroline was too shocked to even wrinkle her nose as he shook his head as if trying to clear it before his eyes locked on hers.

"T-tyler?" Caroline spoke, her voice trembling.

Tyler whined and sat back, reaching up and swiping at his ear and Caroline knew if he had thumbs he'd have grabbed at his hair in a very familiar gesture of frustration. A relieved sob tore itself out of her chest when she realized that, at least for the moment, Tyler wasn't going to kill her. If she had it in her to weep, she would have. As it was, all she could do was choke out a sob as the vervain twisted through her. Tyler sniffed again, leaning forward to inspect the wound. His head rose as he looked over his shoulder with a growl at Matt.

"Tyler-Tyler!" his head snapped back to her, "it's _fine_," she said, her breath catching on the whimper that escaped her lips as the bullet stung, "the bullet-" she whimpered, "there's vervain-"

Tyler's head was down on her shoulder, sniffing at the wound. Straightening up, he stepped over her so that his legs were on either side of her waist. His other paw pressed against her shoulder, pinning her arm. Caroline gasped as the bullet pushed deeper into her as she squirmed. Tyler's gold eyes locked on her, his head lowering as his lips peeled back. Without warning he lunged forward with a snarl.

Caroline shrieked in fear and then screamed as pain shot through her shoulder.

Her vision went white with agony as the air fled from her lungs. For one impossibly long moment she ceased to be. And then with a sickening rush the world flew back into focus. Caroline gasped and tried to sit up but Tyler pushed down with his paw on her unwounded shoulder. Caroline felt the veins around her eyes itch as her fangs strained to come out. Fighting against the desire to hiss, she instead gasped again, sucking in air through her lungs as Tyler looked at her with concern.

"I'm okay," Caroline gasped, "I'm okay," she reached up and touched her fingers to the wound, "you got the bullet out," she aid, feeling the scratch marks where he'd ripped the bullet out, "I can't heal with the vervain but you got it out," she tried to smile, "thank you."

Tyler whined and stepped off of her, slowly settling down to the ground next to her and resting his head on her paws. Caroline took a breath and closed her eyes against the nausea that swam through her. Carefully she rolled onto her side towards the wolf, opening her eyes. to see Tyler laying there with his head on his paws, his gold eyes looking up at her. Even without him lunging at her, Caroline could see the tension written all over him. He was tense but apparently having her so close seemed to help. Or maybe the idea that she had forgiven him helped to keep him somewhat aware of himself.

"Your hair's the same," Caroline said, thinking of the brown hair that now spread all over his body, "I don't think I've seen it this long since you went through that phase in middle school."

Even as a brown wolf, Tyler gave her a look that clearly said he did not want to be associated with his time in middle school. Caroline shifted, trying to push herself up but her arm only trembled violently and refused to support her weight fully. Caroline lowered herself heavily to the ground. Tyler watched her every movement. Summoning courage she did not feel, Caroline smiled at him.

"It's just the vervain," she said, "when i drink blood I'll be fine," she said. Tyler raised his head, looking at the entrance to the cellar, "no," Caroline shook her head, "Klaus is out there. Please, just stay here."

Shockingly Tyler listened to her.

There were moments when the wolf seemed to struggle back to the surface, where he would back up to the furthest corner of the cellar and snarl. A handful of times he lunged towards her. But each time, just before he was about to kill her, he would stop. Mostly he paced the area in between her prone form and the wall, obviously not wishing to be near her but not running into the woods. After a while, Caroline felt she could move and settled against the far wall, knowing the gate was useless.

Hours felt like days in the cellar as Caroline watched the brown wolf pace, half certain that he would kill her or that Klaus would appear and they'd both be dead. Caroline sat there and listened, to Tyler pacing and snarling and to Matt's steady pulse. Just as she was getting used to the odd rhythm of the night, Tyler snarled, and jumped back, landing unsteadily on his paws before staggering further away. Caroline pushed herself up and stepped forward far as she dared but the wolf let out a snap of furious warning, taking a step forward before backpedaling.

"Tyler? Tyler what's going on?" Caroline demanded.

The wolf lowered his head before arching his back with a howl. Caroline gasped as he howled again, this time the howl ended in a very human scream. Her eyes widened as the wolf arched downwards again, a sickening series of snaps echoing in the cellar. His head flew up as his arms extended, the bones lengthening as his body began to turn back into a human form. He gritted his teeth as his jaw began to recede, his face beginning to resemble Tyler's face. Still more wolf than human, Tyler snarled and lunged towards her.

Caroline ripped off her jacket and threw it at him.

Once again the scent of her so close reached into his madness. The rage and pain on his face was momentarily replaced by surprise before the change continued. Rage filled his features again only this time his head snapped toward where Matt was laying as he threw her bloodstained jacket aside. Abruptly he doubled over, screaming as his torso lengthened and his body began to take on more human proportions. His head flew up. Tyler snarled, pushing the rest of himself up as he moved towards Matt.

"Tyler, no!" Caroline jumped to her feet, lunging forward and wrapping her arms around his almost-human torso.

Tyler arched his back, screaming as his bones cracked. Caroline buried her face in his shoulder, pressing her fingers into his skin as she fought to make herself as small as possible while still holding him away from their friend. She couldn't let him near Matt but if he bit her-if he bit her she was going to die and he was never going to forgive himself. He doubled over and she felt his ribs expand, snapping from wolf to human under her fingers. His hands dragged from his head to her hands. Caroline grabbed his fingers, threading hers through his as she held him.

"You're okay-you're okay," she whispered against his skin as he sobbed with pain, "I've got you," she whispered, loosening her grip on his fingers as they lengthened into human appendages.

When he sank to the ground, she went with him, pulling him into her lap as his knees snapped back into alignment. His back pressed against hers as she heard the sound of the last of his organs shifting into place. After several more agony filled seconds, his screams and sobs turned into gasps for air as the last patches of fur gave way to skin. Caroline breathed a sigh of relief as she tightened her arms around him, making sure not to cut off his air supply.

"Care?" his voice was raw and he barely got her name out in his fight for air through newly changed lungs. But she heard the question all the same.

"I'm fine," she said, "it's just a few scratches, nothing bad," she exhaled in relief as she felt his tight muscles loosen. His weight pressed heavily against her before he moved to push himself up, "no," Caroline shook her head, one of her hands reaching up to press against his forehead, "catch your breath," she ordered.

His arm relaxed as he listened to her, his body all but collapsing against hers. For a handful of minutes the only sound that echoed through the darkness of the cellar was the sound of the young werewolf's deep, unsteady breaths. Caroline ran her fingers through his longer hair before moving her arms so his head was supported. She closed her eyes as her mouth watered with the sound of his blood pounding through his veins, focusing instead on the physical reaction. She hadn't watched him turn into a human the last time, but she knew what 'normal' was for the werewolf. Holding him she felt his feverishly hot skin begin to cool against her fingers, his heart slowing and his breath picking up a normal rhythm. Finally his body shifted against her to get more comfortable and she felt the rhythm of his breath begin to fall into a pattern.

"Hey," Caroline said softly, "Tyler you can't go to sleep yet," she said, her thumb rubbing against the back of his hand, "we've got to get Matt out of here okay?"

"Huh?" his body shifted, his face turning towards hers as his eyes struggled to stay open, instinct temporarily overriding his knowledge of the situation.

"We have to get Matt out of here," Caroline repeated.

Tyler just looked at her and Caroline was torn between hatred and gratitude towards Jules. Tyler wasn't sobbing, clutching at her as if she was the last solid thing in the world. He'd screamed, but it hadn't been like the last time. He was adjusting to what he was and while Caroline was grateful for that, a part of her was furious that it was Jules who helped him reach that point. Pushing the feeling aside, she smiled encouragingly at the werewolf who nodded slightly.

"Yeah," Tyler blinked and moved to sit up.

"Take it easy," Caroline said, helping him.

Tyler closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and forcing himself not to give into the desire to vomit. Even sitting up made his head spin. More than that he missed the coolness of Caroline's embrace. Like last time the heat of his skin was almost unbearable. Thankfully this time he did not feel exhausted to the point of tears or like the world was ending. It wasn't as bad as the last time, apparently Jules had been right when she told him taking wolfs bane was a terrible idea. Caroline's wonderfully hand remained on his back as he moved to push himself to his feet and hesitated realizing that once again he was naked.

"Shit," he swore, "my clothes got ruined in the transformation."

"Hang on," Caroline said jumping to her feet and hurrying into the cellar, her eyes searching through the darkness before they found what she was looking for. Seizing his previously discarded and forgotten about sweat pants, Caroline ran back to the werewolf, "here," she said, her heart swelling at the small victory, "we forgot these last time."

"Thanks," Tyler said taking the pants and pulling them on, "you're sure I didn't-"

"Yes," she said, "once I crashed through the gate you recognized me. You didn't hurt me," he nodded, "you don't seem surprised," she added slowly.

"Jules said without the Wolfs Bane it'd be easier to stay aware of myself," he explained, "and if I had the scent of someone I cared about it would help."

"Well it worked," she said, trying not to smile at his admission of caring about her, "you did-" without warning the world lurched as the burn of vervain and blood loss made her head spin.

"Caroline!" Tyler was by her side instantly, his arms steadying her as she swayed on her feet, "shit the vervain," he looked back over at Matt.

"I'll be okay," Caroline said blinking to clear her eyes, "we need to get Matt-" she took a shuddering breath, "we have to get to the Salvatores. We'll be safe there," her eyes blinked open.

"Salvatore house, got it," Tyler said, as if he didn't think it was crazy o go marching into a vampire's house.

"Uh huh," she nodded, her eyes loosing their focus, "Tyler?" she gasped, her knees buckling.

Instantly his arms shifted to accommodate her weight, holding her up as if she weighed nothing. Caroline bit her lip at the burn of his skin, feeling the veins around her eyes swell with the promise of fresh, hot blood so close.

"No, fuck that," Tyler slowly lowered her down, settling her against the wall. Under the half moons of her eyelashes he could see the darkened veins of her eyes. She needed blood, badly and under any other circumstance he would have shoved his wrist into her mouth but he had no idea if the werewolf venom that killed vampires was still in his system. One thing was clear, he had to get her food, "hang on," he ordered.

"Tyler, no!" Caroline protested, her eyes flying open, "they need a wolf-" she trailed off, leaning her heavy, burning head against the wall as a low moan bubbled from her lips.

A cold knot of fear settled in the pit of Tyler's stomach. Caroline was so strong it was unsettling as hell to see her with her head lolling and her eyes struggling to stay open even if they were darkened with the desire for blood. It was way more unsettling then it had been to wake up chained in the tomb to see her sitting across the way unconscious. Shoving his own selfish fear aside, Tyler focused on the young woman in front of him and crouched down, bringing himself as close to her as he dared.

"Caroline, Caroline!" he tapped the cool skin of her face, "are you sure I didn't bite you?"

"It's the vervain and the bullet," she said blinking, her eyes going to their usual color, "Tyler, Tyler!" she sat up, "you have to get Matt to the Salvatore house, he'll be safe there. Leave me here."

"No!" Tyler said, "Caroline look at me," his hands cupped her cheeks, forcing her eyes to meet his, "I want you to count to ten, okay? Can you do that for me? Count to ten and I'll be right back, okay?"

Caroline looked at him uncomprehendingly. Tyler knew she'd do the task regardless. Caroline's inability to count or spell when drunk was somewhat infamous in Mystic Falls. When they were young and new to drinking they used to find it funny that things that were easy were suddenly hard. For Caroline, numbers were the first thing to go. But she was a list person, a doer and when given a task she'd do her damnedest to complete it. He could feel the strength return to his limbs but he knew it would take more than ten seconds to catch something. Fortunately, it would also probably take Caroline Forbes longer than that to count to ten. instead of agreeing, however, fear broke out o the young woman's face.

"No," Caroline shook her head against his hands, "no, no, no," she continued to shake her head, "please don't leave again. Please, I promise I don't hate you," she felt her lip tremble, "I'm not even mad anymore. Please stay-" she babbled, tears edging her vision.

"Caroline I'm going to get you food. If I'm not back by the time you count to ten, you can hate me all you want.'

"But I can't hate you," she said, feeling herself close to tears, "I kissed you back remember?"

Surprise registered on the young werewolf's face, making him look far more innocent then he had moments ago even to her foggy vision. Caroline fought the urge to sob outright. Had he forgotten they kissed? Or did he think Jules was a better kisser than her? Her lip trembled at the idea that Tyler had traded her in for the dirty blonde werewolf with her tight pants and visible bras. Then she remembered how well Tyler had done during the last transformation and felt awful all over again. Caroline opened her mouth to apologize but Tyler shook his head.

"I didn't forget," he said, "count to ten okay?"

Caroline nodded, beginning to count. But the numbers seemed to get all jumbled in her head as the burn of the vervain and the wood twisted through her body. She was trying to unravel the mystery of what was missing between five, seven and eight while ignoring the ache in her chest when the sound of footsteps on the cellar steps drew her eye. Tyler came hurrying down the stairs, dragging a deer behind him with his neck twisted the wrong way. Caroline's eyes widened at the promise of fresh blood.

Before either of them could move she had tackled the deer, sinking her fangs into the flesh and drinking deeply.

The blood flowed through her, still warm and fresh. Caroline would have moaned in delight if she hadn't been so consumed with the desire to drink as much blood as she could as fast as she could. As it flowed through her veins the twisting fire of vervain ebbed to a dull burn and finally only to a slight sting. Dimly she was aware of her injuries healing themselves and her skin knitting back together. Silently she was thankful that Tyler hadn't spilt a drop of the deer's blood when he killed it and she was able to drain every last drop.

When there was nothing left, she slowly raised her head, painfully aware of the blood that coursed down her chin and the fact she had attacked the dear carcass like a wild animal. Even if it was in front of a werewolf who had acted the same way to her earlier that night. Sitting back from the dead deer, Caroline reached up to wipe her chin on the back of her hand only to have a piece of white fabric offered to her. She turned her head and looked up at Tyler who held out what was left of her now ruined, formerly favorite new white jacket.

"I think it's already ruined," he said.

Caroline swallowed thickly before accepting the jacket and wiping the blood off of her chin.

"Are you okay?" the werewolf asked. Caroline nodded, "are you sure?"

"Yes," she said getting to her feet, "it was the vervain," she looked down at her jacket with dismay before looking at Tyler, "I've never gotten hit with that much without drinking blood afterwards," she explained looking over at Matt, "we have to get him out of here."

Tyler followed her gaze to the still unconscious form of Matt, the rifle he'd knocked away from him laying a few feet away. He looked back at Caroline, watching as the Vampire reached up to touch the hole in her shirt. Matt had shot her. Vaguely he remembered her jumping in front of the gun, taking the bullet again. Which meant that he'd hurt her, _again_. And yet she was still beginning him not to leave, telling hims he didn't hate him. Without a word he walked over to Matt and picked him up, slinging his weight over his shoulder. When he turned around and met Caroline's eye, she looked at him gratefully and Tyler felt his heart ump with joy.

"Come on, lets get to the Salvatores."

"Wait," Caroline looked out at the woods.

"If Kalus needs a wolf then I'm not going to be of any use to him until the next moon," Tyler said.

"We still need to hurry," Caroline said.

Silently they made their way back through the woods towards the Salvatore mansion, Tyler in his sweat pants and Caroline in her bullet ridden shirt. Neither spoke a word, and when the house came into their view both were surprised that they were able to walk to it without the world ending. As always the door was unlocked and swung open to reveal a mansion that was eerily empty. Tyler deposited Matt on the couch before straightening up to face her. Caroline crossed an arm over her chest, fingering the tatters of her the hole in her shirt self consciously.

"So what do we do now?" he asked.

"We should stay put," Caroline said, "it'll be close to dawn soon," she looked out the window before glancing down, "and they took my ring," she added, frustration in her voice.

"They took your ring?" he demanded, anger flaring in his eyes Caroline's own widened in surprise at his reaction before the young man swore, "sorry," he said gruffly.

"It's okay," Caroline said quickly, remembering that his emotions were heightened after the transformation, "I'll get another one. No problem. But for right now I've got to stay inside."

Tyler looked at her. He could se clear as day that she was fighting to stay positive. Fighting to stay brave. She was doing a hell of a job of it and if he didn't know her so well he'd almost believe the front she put up. But he knew Caroline Forbes, who loved too hard and too fiercely. Who expected cowards like him and jerks like Matt and her mom to take care of her heart only to have it returned in pieces. Caroline, who deserved so much better than what she got but somehow managed to not give up on the world.

Who was about to have her faith in him shattered all over again.

"Yeah, it's safe here?" he asked.

"Yes," Caroline said, "Elena's got the house now which means no Vampire can get in except the ones she allows. And Bonnie put a spell on here to help keep out witches."

Tyler nodded and looked over at Matt. He'd made certain to leave the rifle behind and when he picked him up he hadn't felt anything in the way of weapons. He was still unconscious and Tyler was certain if he hadn't been ten seconds from beating Matt into unconsciousness, he'd be worried about him. As it was, he knew the only thing saving him from his fine haired temper was the fact that Matt waking up in a lot of pain wasn't nearly as satisfying as him being conscious while Tyler inflicted it on him.

Regardless he walked over to the young man and quickly began to pat him down.

"Tyler?" Caroline looked at him with concern, "what are you doing?"

"I'm making sure he's unarmed," Tyler said, his fingers connecting with something hard. Rolling up the leg of Matt's jeans he yanked the wicked looking blade out of the holster and tossed it to the side. On the other side of his leg he found several darts filled with clear liquid, "thats all of it," he said looking up at her as he slid the darts into his pocket, "but he's probably drinking vervain."

"Probably," Caroline agreed softly.

"So if he wakes up, knock him out. Don't compel him," he said straightening up with the dagger in his hand.

"Where are you going?" Caroline asked, fear snaking up her spine, "you're going after Jules," she realized aloud. Tyler looked down before nodding, "Tyler-" she began.

"If they needed a werewolf that badly they probably took her," he explained, "I know there's a good chance she's dead but I have to try."

Caroline swallowed thickly, knowing that leaving the house was as good as a signing your own death warrant. Full moon passing or no, she didn't think Klaus would hesitate to kill Tyler. But determination on the young werewolf's face made her heart drop and she knew that if she stopped him with force he would never forgive her for it. Pressing her lips together she looked at the ground and nodded, a mean, selfish part of her hating the fact that he was so willing to go and run after Jules but not her.

"Look I have to go after her," Tyler explained after a moment of hesitation, "I already made the mistake of abandoning someone I care about once," he said, drawing Caroline's eyes hopefully up, "I can't do that again," he said with a shake of his head.

"Hold on, one second," Caroline said, putting on a burst of speed and vanishing before returning with a crossbow, "take this," she said forcing it into his arms before vanishing and returning once again with a jacket, "and this. You're warm now but last time you got cold fast. And no-one goes to fight ancient vampires without their shirts on, that's just silly."

Tyler set down the weapons and pulled on the snug jacket, surprised when the smell of aftershave and chalk hit his nose instead of that of a Vampire. Instantly he could see the history classroom, the smell coming most strongly from the teacher standing at the board writing at a slight slant. Pushing aside the question of why his history teacher was leaving clothing around the Salvatore house, Tyler picked up the weapons and looked at the Vampire in front of him.

It was on his lips to apologize, but the list of all the ways he'd messed up before and probably would mess up again was so long it made his head swim. Past that, he thought about telling her how he felt, even if he wasn't sure himself. He didn't know if telling her he'd barely stopped thinking about her since he left would make her feel better or worse. Or if telling her the reason he'd made it back to Mystic Falls so quickly when his mom called was because he'd been halfway there already, unwilling to face the prospect of his second transformation without giving her the explanation she deserved.

There were a hundred things clamoring in his mind to be said, a hundred eloquent, articulate, maybe even beautiful things.

"Knock him out if he wakes up, you can always give him blood and heal him later," came out instead.

Caroline's eyes widened at the stern warning from the werewolf before she darted forward and wrapped her arms around him. It was so perfectly 'Tyler' for him to focus on being angry and protective rather than saying what he was feeling. Any other time that would have bothered her but not now, not after what had happened. Suddenly the month he had been gone seemed like a lifetime and Caroline felt her arms tighten around him before his own arms wound around her after a moment of hesitation.

"Please be careful," she whispered to the werewolf.

She felt Tyler nod against her cheek before he slowly drew back, his brown eyes meeting hers. His lips parted for a moment before they pressed together and he nodded, determination in his eyes as he stepped back from her embrace. He missed the coldness of her arms instantly but forced himself back, making his way to the door and stepping outside before he had the chance to listen to hesitate.

Before he had the chance to listen to every little voice in his head that told him to stay.

* * *

**Next time we find out Jules' fate, more about Tyler's training and Caroline's feelings on Matt and her mom.**

**Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

It was a testament to the state of things that the least injured member of the sad little party that limped to the door of the Salvatore mansion had had every bone in his body broken and rearranged twice.

There wasn't a part of Tyler that didn't ache viciously but one look at the pale, tight face of the man leaning against him and he ignored it. Jeremy Gilbert had been gutted, nearly bled dry and had his neck broken three times. They'd said something about a ring kept him alive but none of the vampires had a chance to fully heal him. He was unusually heavy to Tyler's shot muscles, but he ignored the weakness and pushed forward. He'd have carried Jeremy if he wasn't sure it would hurt his stomach wound.

Limping into the house, Tyler led the younger man into the main room. The previously occupied couch was empty and Tyler forced aside the raw fear that slammed into him and instead focuses on getting Jeremy down as painlessly as possible. Gentle had never been his strong suit but he tried. Even so, the sharp cry the young man didn't quite manage to contain made his ears sting.

"Stay still," he ordered the human when he shifted, stopping as his face when even paler.

"Where's Bonnie?" came the demand, issued through pale, tight lips.

Trying to contain his shock, Tyler stared at him in surprise before looking over his shoulder to see Stefan lowering the young woman onto the floor. She was unconscious and unfeeling but Tyler's stomach turned at the sight of the numerous pieces of wood that pierced her torso, courtesy of the other witch. Jeremy's bloody hand gripped his forearm as he tried to haul himself up.

"Easy, easy man," Tyler pushed him back, "Stefan's working on her-" he winced at the sound of flesh being torn and the smell of blood swamping the air.

Jeremy's hand relaxed against him as his eyes widened, his chest rising and falling rapidly as his heart picked up its pace. Suddenly Tyler was not certain the healing ring would be enough to save him. Was being killed by blood loss a supernatural occurrence? Unwilling to find out if that was the case, he cast his eyes around. Damon was absent and the only other vampire in the room was crouched before a barely conscious Elena, concern naked on his features.

"Hey!" Tyler called over to him, drawing the Vampire's attention, "he needs blood."

The Vampire straightened up and was instantly beside them. With a practiced motion he rolled up his sleeve and bit into his wrist. Instantly Tyler's senses began to reel. This Vampire, like the one who tried to kill them, smelled different. He smelled _wrong_. On some primal level, all Vampires smelled wrong to him but this one sent every survival instinct he had into overload.

It was too close to the moon. Between the blood and the Vampires and the crashing realization that some fucking Warlock had pushed his mother off the stairs, he was close to his breaking point. Too close. Biting back on the urge to growl like an animal, he turned and strode from the room. He needed to get away from them and as tempting as the door to his left was, the remind that Caroline was somewhere in the house with Matt who had _shot_ her, made him turn right instead.

He tried to sort through the smells. Blood, sick, vampire, wrong, they all flew through his nose and made his head spin. So instead he focused on the scent of Caroline's shampoo. The odd chemical strawberry concoction, made all the more distinct by the heat of the curling iron she used, was one of the most distinct smells he knew. He picked it out subtly, coming much more strongly from the stairs. Tyler opened the door, following the smell into the basement.

He wasn't shocked that a pair of Vampires would have a cellar/dungeon in their house but the thing still freaked him out. Cold dampened the smell but in the depths of the cellar he was able to hear the sound of chains moving. Putting on a burst of speed, he rounded the corner ready to rip Matt's arm clear off if he had hurt her. But when he rounded the corner he saw Matt was the one chained up, Caroline threading the heavy links through the rings set into the wall.

"Caroline?"

Caroline stiffened and turned around, her eyes locking on his. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, her lips parting in surprise. Her hands were full of chains but she threw them aside and with a burst of speed, she hurled herself into his arms. Her arms were around his chest before the chains had time to clatter to the ground as she hugged him with all the force in her undead body. It was impossible to breathe but Tyler ignored the fact for the moment. Caroline hadn't heard him come in and now she was trembling against him. Something was terribly wrong.

"Care," Tyler spoke her nickname, feeling her arms loosen slightly around him, "what happened?"

Caroline squeezed her eyes shut against the tears that threatened her. Summoning her courage, she drew back and looked at Tyler.

"Matt woke up," she said.

"Did he hurt you?" Tyler demanded, cutting her off as anger showed on his face.

"No," Caroline said quickly, seeing how close the werewolf was to snapping something and praying that something wasn't going to be Matt, "he was just confused and he-" she took a deep breath, "he kind of freaked out."

"You did the right thing," Tyler told her, "everyone's upstairs."

"What?" Caroline's eyes widened as she went to move past him but Tyler caught her arm, "what's wrong?" she asked.

"Everyone's hurt badly," he began. She nodded impatiently, obviously already expecting that, "Jenna's dead," he continued, "so is Mr. Saltzman and Elena's Uncle John."

"Oh my God," Caroline shook her head, "Elena-" she tore out of his grasp and bolted up the stairs to her friend.

Tyler looked at his empty hand before walking over to the wall and pressing his back to the cold stones. The coolness helped the fire that seemed to rage underneath his skin. Exhaling he slid down until he was sitting, his muscles aching with the strain the rescue attempt had put on them. His entire body felt weak and shaky and sore, but even he could feel himself healing quicker than the last time he'd turned. It was surprising how much easier it had been this time.

Though if there was a cure for what he was, he'd still take it in a heartbeat.

Reaching up, he rubbed at an itch behind his ear. He knew he was supposed to be up there, helping the others, proving that his decision to side with the werewolves over the people he had known his entire life was a one time thing. But he knew if he went up there it wasn't going to take much to set him off. Even if they could heal whatever wounds he inflicted, Tyler imagined that going 'wolf' on everyone wasn't going to be appreciated. Or helpful. He didn't need his abilities to know that upstairs people were crying and hurting.

Thankfully all he felt was numb.

He was certain he was in shock or something. Or maybe it was just a guy thing but when he thought of people dying he couldn't feel anything. Not sad or upset or any normal emotion. The only thing he felt was the irrational anger that seemed to have him in a vice grip. Even more than it usually did. It had been explained to him why werewolves tended to stay away from other people, especially during the full moon, but as he staved off the anger he realized why firsthand.

People sucked.

Vampires, other wolves, idiotic humans, witches, it didn't matter. They were annoying and infuriating and all that Tyler wanted to do was head upstairs and beat someone until he felt better. He'd been told the single greatest obstacle he'd face was not to give into his instincts, that however bad his self control was currently, it was only going to be harder down the road. It had made sense what his father was, how he had acted and the anger Tyler still felt towards the man was slowly giving way to pity. At least he knew what he was going to face, Richard Lockwood had no idea.

The smell of Vampire snapped his eyes open in time to see Stefan blur down. The Vampire paused, his eyes glancing in the direction of Matt and then back at Tyler.

"Matt's been filled in," Tyler said, hoping the Vampire would listen to his clipped tone and get out of there.

"Damon's taking Bonnie to the hospital."

"What?" Tyler looked at him, "doesn't she have Vampire blood in her system?"

"The doctors won't be able to see anything unusual," Stefan said, "we think the other witch did something to her. She wasn't reacting to the blood," he continued, "Elena and Jeremy went with her."

Tyler pushed himself to his feet. Caroline stayed because she couldn't go outside. Because the one person who could help her go outside was probably going to be dead within the hour. As much as he knew it would hurt Caroline to loose her friend, his mind went to another person who had looked even more hysterical at the sight of her injured.

"Were Jeremy and Bonnie-" he fumbled for the right teenage euphemism, "together?"

"Yeah," Stefan said quietly.

"Shit," Tyler swore, thinking of how Jeremy had reacted when Vicki had died.

To his credit, Stefan did not offer any false sense of hope, only a nod of acknowledgement for what would happen to the young man if Bonnie died. He remembered the sight of her punctured through with the wood and realized that if Elena and Jeremy had gone with her then Caroline had been left all alone with only the memory of Bonnie being rushed out of the house. Shoving aside his desire to stay in the dark, cool basement Tyler made for the stairs, determined not ever to be seen as the guy who would abandon her again.

He moved at human speeds, his muscles too worn out for anything else. His other senses, however, seemed perfectly content to operate with their usual heightened sharpness.

"No!" he was surprised by the sharpness in Caroline's tone, "it's not happening."

"His decision to help his friends was commendable-"

"They're not his friends. I'm his friend, Jeremy's his friend. None of the rest of them are. He went back into those woods to help you all because it was the right thing to do. So don't tell me that werewolves have no concept of right or wrong because he does!"

Unwilling to hear Caroline continue to defend him after all he had done, Tyler put on a burst of speed and made it to the living room at a slightly faster than human pace. Caroline was standing in the shadows, her arms crossed over her chest and daggers shooting from her eyes. Their unfortunate recipient was the impeccably dressed Vampire from earlier, the one who smelled _wrong_. He was standing by the fire, his hands loosely tucked into his pockets. The only emotion that showed on his face was a slight look of disdain.

"Here," Stefan appeared next to him, offering the elder Vampire a packet of blood, "Caroline why don't you take Tyler upstairs? I'm sure both of you would like to clean up."

"Yeah, come on Tyler," Caroline said with a final glare towards the Vampire before she all but stormed out of the room, leaving Tyler to follow.

"Who is that guy?" he asked.

"A really old, really snobby Vampire who was planning to sacrifice Elena so he could kill Klaus," she said storming up the stairs, "you should never trust someone who wants to kill their own family," she added viciously, grabbing the handle of a door and wrenching it open.

Either she had forgotten or one of the Salvatores had but the room she had picked had all it's windows open to full glory. There was a flash of light and Caroline braced herself for the inevitable burn. Instead the air was knocked out of her lungs as Tyler tackled her out of the light, slamming the door in their wake. Caroline gasped for air and then held her breath when it registered that Tyler Lockwood was laying on top of her, his weight supported on his arms but his body doing a very good job of shielding her, even though his closing of the door had cut off the sunlight.

It was the second time that night that Tyler Lockwood had been on top of her. But there was something very different between being pinned down by a borderline feral wolf and having the warm weight of the well muscled boy on top of her. Their eyes locked and much to her surprise, she saw amber flicker in his irises.

Tyler jumped to his feet as if he had been burned, pulling her with him as he glanced over his shoulder to make certain the door was closed and the hallway was in darkness once more.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Ye-yes, I'm fine," she said fighting to keep the stutter out of her voice, "I didn't even get burned."

"Okay, stay here I'll go close the blinds," he said.

Caroline nodded as he moved into the room, shutting the door tightly behind him. Exhaling a shaky breath, she leaned against the wall, sternly telling herself that thinking about how that felt. Biting her lip, she lowered her head, letting her curls tumble across her shoulders as she closed her eyes, fighting desperately not to smile at the fact that apparently Tyler's eyes went amber when he got aroused as well.

"Okay," the werewolf said, opening the door.

"Great," Caroline said, her head rising quickly to flash a smile at him before stepping into the room.

The room was done tastefully but it clearly hadn't been used in a very long time. Each of the Salvatore's rooms were spotless but those were two out of the eight bedrooms in the house. The smell of dust and mothballs was overpowering to her heightened nose and her sense of smell was a fraction of what Tyler's was. Caroline bit her lip before looking at him and making up her mind.

"Come on," she said

"Huh?" he looked at her, confused.

"This room stinks," she said, saying what he wouldn't, "Elena made me move some stuff here the other day in case," she continued, "it's messy but it doesn't smell like no-one's been in it for a century."

"Are you-"

"_Tyler_," she scolded, cutting him off before he could ask if she was sure.

With a nod he followed her down the hall to the room she'd been given. Tyler went in first to make sure the drapes were shut. The moment he stepped through the door the smell of Caroline flooded his senses. She'd already replaced the sheets with her own. He could see pictures and other things she thought were important scattered around. The two suitcases she'd used were neatly placed in the closet which was already filled with neatly hung up clothes.

Tyler made sure all the blinds were shut tightly. He hesitated before he went to the door and, feeling like a complete creep, glanced around at the pictures. His eyes went quickly over the ones of Bonnie, Elena and her, past the one of her with her mother and the handful of her and Matt in 'couple' mode. Feeling disgusted with himself, he turned around to go before he saw the picture laying face down on the dresser. Glancing at the door, half expecting her to come inside, he walked over to the picture and lifted it up.

The amount of relief that crashed into him made him want to vomit. It might have been the only picture of the two of them, certainly it was the only one he could remember being taken. Caroline was in her green gown from the Mystic Falls pageant, the winner's sash slung confidently across her chest. He was standing next to her, his smile mixed with the good old fashioned I'll-do-it-because-I'm-a-Lockwood disdain towards public events. She hadn't been a Vampire then and he hadn't really liked her but his mom had motioned and her arm had slid neatly around his back and before he knew it the picture had been snapped.

"Tyler?" a knock drew him out of his memories and color flooded his cheeks.

"Yeah, uh, hang on," he put the picture down and checked the blinds before walking over to the door and pulling it open, "sorry," he said gruffly.

"It's okay," Caroline said with a smile as she stepped into the room.

She saw the blood rushing to Tyler's cheeks but decided not to call the werewolf out on it. Or on the fact that he'd probably been snooping. Her eyes moved around the room in a quick inspection before they landed on the picture that was half hanging off the dresser. She knew exactly which picture he had been looking at, the only picture she could find of the two of them together which she had stuck in a frame for the 'someday' when he would come home and looking at him wouldn't make her chest ache.

"Stefan's right, we should probably clean up," she said, "I mean you turned into a wolf and I got shot, we can't smell that great and everyone here's got heightened senses."

"Yeah," Tyler agreed.

"So why don't you jump in the shower and I'll see if Stefan or Damon's got some clean clothes that you can borrow," she said, honing in on the tasks that could be accomplished. Tyler nodded, "oh, there are clean towels in the cabinet," she said.

"Thanks," the werewolf said, moving into the bathroom.

Caroline walked out of the room and hurried down the stairs. Elijah and Stefan were absent, probably having gone to check on Elena and Bonnie. Caroline pressed her lips together at the feeling of being abandoned again, sternly reminding herself that Bonnie was fighting for her life and that other witch had done something to make it so their 'get-out-of-jail-free-card' did nothing for her. Instead she hurried up the stairs to the room she knew Alaric had been staying in. It was terrible but there was no alternative and she didn't think Mr. Saltzman would want Tyler running around naked.

Picking up a pair of loose sweats and a t-shirt that she thought would fit Tyler, Caroline frowned. She felt like she was forgetting something. Like they were all forgetting something _huge_. Something that shouldn't be forgotten. Quickly she reviewed the thoughts that had been tumbling in her head. It was an old trick Mr. Saltzman had taught them about test taking. The answers were there, you just had to remember them. Feelings of abandonment, Bonnie being hurt, Tyler finding the picture she'd put away because he'd left-

The clothes tumbled from her hands as they flew up to cover her horrified gasp.

Jules hadn't come back.

The female werewolf had come charging after Tyler, so Caroline didn't think she would just abandon him. Especially not if Tyler had gone off to rescue her. And they had all just forgotten. _She_ had forgotten. She may not have liked Jules but after how Tyler had reacted during the full moon, she could see the woman had helped him. Bending down, Caroline scooped up the clothes she'd grabbed and ran back to her room. The sound of the shower running hit her ears and she bit her lip, torn between knocking on the door and demanding answers from Tyler and letting the werewolf shower in peace.

She settled for pacing back and forth, biting her lip and trying to think of how to properly express condolences for a woman who had locked her in a cage and let her boyfriend torture her. All too soon it sounded like the shower was being turned off. Caroline quickly sat on the bed before jumping up, not sure if she should look causal or like a girl who had realized that someone had died and she didn't even know it. Halfway between the two, the door to the bathroom opened and Tyler stepped out, a flowered towel wrapped around his waist.

"What's wrong?" he asked instantly, his eyes on hers.

Caroline quickly grabbed the clothes and held them out to the werewolf. It was one thing to hold him while he transformed into a human, it was quite another to have a conversation about Jules while he was wrapped in a flowery towel.

"Here," she said, "go change, we'll talk when you get out."

"Thanks," he said, taking the clothes and disappearing into the bathroom. He emerged moments later, fully dressed and smelling strongly of her shampoo, "what's wrong?" he repeated.

"Nothing, I just-" Caroline hesitated, "I realized-" she pressed her hands together and sternly told herself to stop being such a coward, "I'm sorry about Jules."

His entire face changed when she said the female werewolf's name and Caroline felt like she'd been punched in the gut. It was all the confirmation she needed to know that Jules was dead. She stepped forward, intent on comforting the werewolf but Tyler matched her step with one of his own in the other direction and shook his head, his eyes on the ground in a silent, desperate plea for distance. Caroline swallowed and stayed still as Tyler hesitantly raised his eyes.

"It's your turn to shower," he said.

"Tyler-" she began, fear snaking up her spine when his head turned away.

"I can't talk about it right now," he said, his tone heavy with the same kind of desperation that she heard when he first learned what his transformation would entail, "I just-I can't."

"Okay," she said, refusing to let her own curiosity alienate him, "okay," she repeated more firmly, drawing his gaze back towards her. Showering was the last thing on her mind but she followed Tyler's lead, "there's a window, in the bathroom-"

"I covered it with a towel," he said, "it stayed."

"Thanks," she said, moving towards the bathroom.

When she reached out to touch him, he cringed away. Caroline stopped dead and looked at him.

"Tell me you're going to be okay while I'm in there," she demanded.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he replied, still not quite able to look at her.

Caroline looked at him, trying to discern if he was lying. As if to reassure her he walked to the bed and sat down on it. Caroline bit her lip, hating how once again Jules had manage to ruin things between them. Tyler was looking at the ground between his legs, his back sloped as his forearms rested on his knees. Caroline was torn between staying with him and showering, if only not to smell so bad when he would eventually let her touch him. Hoping that five minutes alone was what the werewolf needed, Caroline moved towards the bathroom.

One foot into the tiled room, she hesitated before walking back into the room and over to her dresser. Picking up the picture frame she pulled out the stand that would keep it upright. The image of her beaming and him looking like he was barely tolerating her presence flashed up at her and Caroline frowned. It was the only picture she had of the two of them but she made a mental note to change that. Settling where it belonged, Caroline made sure the picture was in line with the others.

Forcing herself not to look and see whether Tyler was watching her, she turned and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

* * *

**Next time we find out why Jules died and maybe we get to Matt. Maybe. Idk I'm liking writing Tyler and Caroline a bit too much.**

**So the last chapter's probably going up at 7:59 on Thursday but hey, that's the life of a student.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the delay!**

* * *

The fact that Caroline felt surprised to find Tyler still sitting on the bed when she got out of the shower made her nose wrinkle in disgust.

Closing the door to let Tyler know she was out, Caroline met his eyes when he turned his head to look at her, guilt in his eyes. Smiling bravely, she walked over to where he was sitting. He made no move to shy away from her. Even so she was slow and careful when she lowered herself next to him, barely close enough for her thigh to touch his.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Tired, sore," he said, "you?"

"The same," Caroline said.

Tyler was silent for a moment, his fingers knotted together. Exhaling he shook his head, looking ahead before glancing back at her.

"I'm sorry about before," he said quietly.

"It's okay," Carolie said, "it's been a long night for all of us."

"No," he said with a shake of his head, "it's not okay," he pushed himself to his feet. she followed him with her eyes, "Care, this is what I am-what I'm going to be for the rest of my life," he folded his arms across his chest, "Jules is dead," he said.

The admission hung heavy in the air, despite the fact they both already knew it to be true. Caroline kept her hands in her lap, hating how her pain was for Tyler and not the person who died. Had she really been around that much death? Brushing the thought aside, Caroline focused her eyes on the werewolf who seemed intent on folding into himself. Slowly Caroline pushed herself to her feet, moving slowly, the memory of him not wanting to be touched etched in her mind.

"I'm sorry," she said, Tyler nodded, "is there someone we should call?"she asked.

"Everyone she talked about is dead," he said, his eyes finally rising to meet hers. Everyone was dead, as in everyone had been killed by Vampires, "she never mentioned anyone else."

"Okay," Caroline said, "how did you get here?" he looked at her curiously, "if you drove together there might be something in her car."

Tyler shifted his weight uncomfortably at her question, hating the answer he knew he was going to have to give her. Now was not the time for where it would lead, even someone like him could see that. But Caroline was looking at him, focused in with laser precision on solving the problem that she could. Forcing his arms to his sides, Tyler looked up at her.

"We didn't drive here together," he said.

"Oh?" Caroline looked at him, trying to keep the traitorous, hopeful note out of her voice, "did she not want you to visit your mom?"

"Car-" he hesitated before speaking, "when my mom called I was already on my way back," he admitted finally.

Caroline's eyes widened as her heart leapt with pure, unadulterated joy. It took everything she had not to beam at him, not to jump with delight at the fact that in some way he had picked her over the werewolf. Furiously she stomped the feelings down, arranging her features into what she prayed was a look of slight curiosity and not the overwhelming urge she suddenly had to throw her arms around him.

"What?" she asked, "why?"

Tyler felt the blood rush to his face and knew that even a blind person would see his embarrassment, let alone a Vampire who he imagined was pretty good at figuring out when blood rushed somewhere. Shifting his weight, the werewolf looked down and then back at her, torn between the desire to man up and confess the truth and the desperation not to say anything at all. Caroline looked at him silently, waiting for him to give his answer and Tyler swore, swiping a hand messily through his hair before looking at her.

"Look, I thought you hated me, and I knew I'd be lucky if you let me on your porch after what I did," he said, "but after everything we went through I couldn't Change without you knowing how sorry I was."

"Tyler," Caroline whispered, unsure of what to say.

She wasn't sure why it bothered her so much that he thought she hated him. She'd slammed the door in his face and said some harsh things but she'd been upset. Rightfully upset. Her own words came back to her, telling him that they weren't friends anymore and it was too late for him to apologize. But it would take someone not knowing her at all to think she could hate them. She wasn't even sure she hated Damon and he had spent months torturing her. But Tyler had been convinced and he'd left, without saying goodbye or anything. She thought his mom's accident had brought him back but apparently she had a role in it. In some strange way she felt relieved at the idea that she hadn't just forced him out of town.

"I wouldn't have thrown you off my porch," she said finally, and the smile he gave her made her heart jump all over again before she focused on the problem at hand, "okay, so Jules followed you in a different car. Then we should start there. The hospital might have had it towed but there is one lot in Mystic Falls and I used to play with the guy who runs it's son. Do you know her license plate number?" Tyler shook his head, "that's fine," Caroline continued, "I mean they probably just towed yours and hers."

"Shit, you're right," he swore, the weight of all the mundane tasks that had been pushed aside coming back to him. Caroline looked at him with concern on her face and he pushed the weight aside, "thanks," he said instead.

"No problem," Caroline replied, her eyes drifting over to the shades pulled tight over the window.

"It's been a while," Tyler said, "they might know something."

"I don't think anyone took their phone with them," Caroline said quietly.

"Just call the hospital," Tyler pointed out. Caroline looked over at him, hesitance written all over her face, "what?" Tyler asked, feeling like he was completely missing something.

"What if, what if my mom sent Matt?" she said after a moment, "what if she's looking for me?"

"Trust me," Tyler said, "the police department's got bigger things to worry about than your mom's secret vampire hunting business," Caroline frowned, "the ritual was-" he hesitated, "they're busy," he finished.

Caroline looked at him curiously but Tyler stayed silent. It was bad enough that he had to see what was there, after the night she had Caroline didn't need to hear any descriptions of what he'd found when he'd gone running off to save everyone. She'd seen the state people who survived it were in, the last thing she needed was to hear the state the dead were in. By some miracle this time she read his face and gave a quick nod of acceptance.

"Okay," she said, "I'll go call them."

Ducking out of the room, she headed off to use the phone. Slowly Tyler made his way back to the bed and sat down, resting his hands on his forearms. Jules had told him that soon he'd find out what his 'sticky areas' were, the places where the transformation was the most difficult. His knees ached but he was used to that from years of sports, same with his wrists. It was his ribs and spine that hurt the worst.

Absently Tyler reached up and touched the side of his chest. Jules had also told him those areas were usually trouble zones. She'd offered some explanation about all the organ shifting and difference in rib alignment that Tyler couldn't fully remember. When the thought about her now, all he could see was the glazed look in her still honey-colored eyes, that and the gaping hole in her chest where her heart had been ripped out.

The worst part was that all he could think, beside the fact that his one werewolf friend in the world was gone, was that it had almost been him.

And that, of course, led to the knowledge that the Vampire had almost been Caroline.

He could smell from the decay that Jules had died first. It was sick how comforted he felt by the knowledge that he wouldn't have to watch the pretty Vampire get a sharpened two by four shoved through her chest, even though that meant he'd have to get his own heart ripped out. Somehow he knew his heart wouldn't see much difference between being physically removed and witnessing Caroline dying. Both concepts were strange and yet both seemed equally life ending to him.

Tyler glanced over his shoulder at the picture now proudly displayed on her dresser. His own tight smile shone back at him and Tyler was struck by how unhappy he looked standing next to her. His own remarks about her came back to him in full force, how mad he'd been at her for 'stealing' his best friend and turning Matt into one of those annoying 'we' people.

_We don't like the color red_

Tyler felt his lip curl in disgust at the realization that some tiny, little part of him didn't find the idea of being part of a 'we' so terrible. Angrily he pushed himself to his feet and walked over to the picture, glaring down at the two people who looked up at him. He'd always been secretly glad that he didn't like Caroline Forbes. It would be too cliche if something happened between them. The sheriff's daughter and the mayor's son, the cheerleader and the football player, the vampire and the werewolf. A faint smile came to him at the last one as he remembered those fucking twilight books the girls all went crazy over. He certainly seemed to be loosing his shirt enough lately to fit into that world.

The floor creaked behind him, alerting him to the return of Caroline.

"What'd they-" Tyler trailed off at the sight of her.

Fat tears rolled down her cheeks, trailing lines of black with them. Even caught between her bottom teeth, her bottom lip trembled violently as her shoulders trembled. Tyler felt the floor drop from underneath his feet at the sight of her. He stepped forward as her lips parted and a shaky sob escaped her throat.

"You were wrong," she said tearfully, "she's not too busy."

"What?" Tyler demanded as a sob escaped Caroline's lips, "Care-Caroline," he said her name firmly, his hands grasping her shoulders, "what did they say?"

"She's looking for me," Caroline said, "she's-" her voice cracked, "she's hunting me Tyler."

Tyler swore and grabbed the Vampire, wrapping his arms around her. Caroline all but collapsed against his chest, her tears soaking through the fabric of his shirt as her shoulders shook violently. He knew it wasn't just the fact her mom was hunting her. Tyler knew it had to be more than that, probably not the least of which was the fact he had come back and once again attempted to eat her. Even after she'd thrown herself in the path of a bullet to keep him safe.

He would have let her cry against his chest forever. And not simply because the feeling of her cool body pressed against his aching ribs was the closest to heaven he'd felt in a long time. But they had bigger, badder thing to worry about. It killed him to loosen his arms and gently move his hands to her shoulders again, pushing her gently back until he could look at her. The look in her eyes was full of wounded confusion but pushed aside the sharp pain that twisted in his gut.

"Is she coming here?" he asked her.

"I don't think so," she said, "she doesn't have any reason to-"

"Except that Matt's in the basement," Tyler said.

Caroline's eyes widened.

"Oh, _oh_," she looked over her shoulder at the doorway before looking desperately back at Tyler, the tears forgotten as raw fear flared in her eyes, "I can't leave," she said, "Tyler my ring-"

"It's okay," Tyler said quickly, "what if we make sure the sun doesn't hit you? Will that work?"

Caroline looked up at him, trying to process what he'd said. She'd been on the phone with the nurse, trying to speak to Stefan when the hold button had gone off. But the voice on the other end of the phone wasn't Stefan's, it was her mothers asking where she was. She hadn't replied and her mother had demanded to know, the sound in her voice anything but comforting. It was all Caroline could do to hang up the phone before her sobs tore free of her chest.

Blinking Caroline nodded at the question, still imagining perfectly the image of her mother's face in her head. Tyler's hands moved from her shoulders as he stepped away. Dully Caroline looked around the room, realizing that her mother would know that everything in there was hers. The pictures, the clothes, the quilt she'd had since she was a baby that Tyler was currently dragging off the bed-

"What are you doing?" Caroline demanded.

"Protecting you from the sun," the werewolf replied, "if we get you into the trunk of a car I can get you to my house. "

"But if my mom's talked to your mom-" Caroline began.

"So? My mom doesn't think we're friends," Tyler pointed out, heading for the door.

"No, Tyler, I told Matt."

The confession hunt in the air and Caroline watched Tyler stiffen. Her demands to him for secrecy suddenly sounded even more hypocritical to her ears as the werewolf turned to face her, his expression unreadable. Caroline opened her mouth, desperate to explain. To make him understand that even if she was a hypocrite, she had thought she was helping Matt. And past that she thought she erased everything from his mind.

"Did you tell him everything?" Tyler demanded. Caroline nodded, "even the part where I abandoned you and skipped town?" she bobbed her head in a smaller nod, "then your mom won't think your at my house," he said, "come on."

Caroline followed him down the stairs and back into the main room, hurrying over to the table where the Salvatore brothers kept their keys. Grabbing the only set left, Caroline winced at the familiar logo of Damon's convertible blazed on the key fob. Hurrying back over to Tyler she handed him the keys and fought the urge to roll his eyes at the flash of appreciation on his face. She wondered how much he'd appreciate it when Damon tried to beat him up for borrowing his car.

"I'm going to bring the car around, stay here okay?" he said.

Caroline nodded. Tyler hurried out of the door and ran down the steps to where the black convertible was waiting. Unlocking the door he got halfway into the car before the smell hit him.

Instantly his senses went into overload.

The smell of Vampire and blood was overwhelming. So many people had bled in the car, bled and sweated and almost pissed themselves in fear. But the smell his nose locked onto was the overwhelming smell of Damon Salvatore. The smell of him and the taste of him. Tyler could feel his flesh in his mouth, feel his teeth sink into it and rip it away. Feel his own venom seep into the blood of the Vampire. Savage triumph erupted in his chest as everything he was leapt for joy at the slow, terrible death his prey was suffering.

Tyler threw himself from the car.

His back slammed onto the pavement as he gasped for air, his eyes wide at the territorial feeling that he associated with the smell. He hated Damon Salvatore, hated him with a passion but the idea that he was subjecting any Vampire to the torturous death of a werewolf bite made his head spin. Jules had told him, in detail, what happened to a Vampire when they were bitten by a werewolf. He knew that thanks to his early stage of the transformation and his newness as a werewolf, Damon's death was going to be agonizing and slow. He was probably still concealing the symptoms of what was happening to him.

Shoving himself upright, Tyler looked over at the car. He didn't want to set foot in it but he knew he had to get Caroline out of there before her mother showed up. Praying that she'd forgive him for making her ride in the trunk, Tyler leaned forward and started the car, opening the top and letting as much air in as possible. Bringing the car around, he grabbed the key and opened the trunk before heading back up the steps to the house.

"The car's around front and-" he said opening the door before stopping at the wide eyed look in her eyes.

"Tyler your eyes," she began.

"My-" he glanced over his shoulder at the mirror by the table.

His own face stared back at him. His own, except for the fact that his eyes were a bright, poisonous gold. They widened as he stared at them, but their color showed no signs of fading. He had felt his eyes taking on an amber edge before, revealing what he was, but this was entirely different. It was shockingly natural, as if the struggle was to keep his eyes brown instead of gold and as he looked at the mirror the oddest urge to smile came to him.

Desperately he turned to Caroline.

"Here," the Vampire shoved a pair of sunglasses at him, "borrow these, we have to get out of here before my mom comes."

Tyler shoved the glasses onto his eyes and grabbed the quilt. Caroline looked up at him, nervousness shining in her eyes and Tyler hesitated, wondering if they could just stay there. But he knew the hospital had caller ID, they'd know that the call came from the Salvatore house and the invitation-only entry thing only worked on Vampires. Not vengeful mothers. Giving Caroline the most reassuring smile he could without falling into the victory grin, Tyler pulled the quilt around her.

"Keep your head down," he said, "no matter what, I've got you okay?"

Caroline nodded, pulling the blanket tightly around her as Tyler wrapped an arm around her shoulder and guided her out into the sunlight. Caroline braced herself, waiting for the burn to come but none did. All she could see was the ground directly in front of her. But Tyler told her where every step was, when to turn, and the journey from the front door to the car went off. In spite of the fact that it felt endless. When the bumper of Damon's car came into view, Caroline almost wept with joy. She didn't think she'd ever been so happy to crawl into the trunk of a car. Tyler closed the top with a click as Caroline pressed her cheek into the carpeting.

The ride to the Lockwood house passed quickly but all Caroline could think about was how many bright, graceful windows the house was full of. The car pulled to a stop and went silent. A quiet knock resounded on the hood.

"Um, yes?" Caroline called up through the metal.

"I'm going inside to get the house ready. Are you gonna be okay?" Tyler asked.

"I'll be fine," Caroline said, "Tyler?" she called quickly, "could you hurry? It's hot in here."

"Yeah, hang on," he said.

Inside the house Tyler looked around and cursed his ancestors for building a house that got so much natural light. His bedroom was easy enough, as was the guest room down the hall. But there was little to do for the sunlight that dappled the hallway between them, meaning that unless Caroline wanted to go running around like some kid who refused to leave their security blanket behind, she was going to need a new ring fast. Hurrying back to the car, Tyler rapped on the metal.

"Okay, you ready?" he called down to the blonde.

"Uh huh," Caroline said.

Carefully Tyler helped her out of the car and led her through the garage and into house before heading up to his bedroom, double checking to make sure the drapes were pulled shut before he removed his arm. Caroline straightened up and looked around, her hair mussed by the blanket and her cheeks flushed from the heat of the trunk. Tyler glanced around, realizing that while he had been so intent on making sure sunlight wasn't creeping in, he hadn't given a thought to the fact that Caroline was standing in his bedroom.

It hit him like a ton of bricks that he hadn't been inside the room in a month. Tyler spent more time in the bedroom than he did in any other room in the house, mainly because it was the one room that was _his_. Yet standing there he felt like a stranger. The maids had been cleaning it, removing any sign of dust or dirt or his own scent. Suddenly Tyler felt very bashfully wolf-like at the idea that he needed to stink up a place to make it feel like home. Caroline, on the other hand, seemed not to sense any of his discomfort as she turned to face him.

"How are your eyes?" she asked him.

Tyler glanced over at the mirror and pulled off the sunglasses, unsurprised to find his eyes still bright gold. Swallowing he looked down at Caroline, his own eyes widening as he saw her eyes go dark. They widened in surprise before Caroline pressed a hand over her mouth, in what Tyler could only assume was an attempt to hide the fangs that slid from her jaw.

"I'm sorry," Caroline said turning away, "I think I'm doing this in response to you."

"No, it's my fault," Tyler said quickly, feeling the heat rush to his cheeks, "I was in Damon's car and-" he hesitated, almost afraid to speak the words, "Care I think I bit him," he said finally.

"What?" Caroline gasped, spinning around, her eyes wide.

"Yeah," Tyler said, forcing his eyes to remain on hers.

"Oh my God," Caroline moved to bite her lip before stopping as her fangs brushed against the soft skin, "is there a cure?" she questioned. Tyler was silent, "there was another Vampire who got bit," she said, "Damon doesn't deserve that."

Tyler looked at her painfully and Caroline felt her insides twist. If there was a cure he didn't know it. Damon had done bad things in his life, but Caroline remembered what it had been like to see a Vampire dying of a werewolf bite. The only Vampire she thought could possibly deserve such a fate was Klaus himself.

"Jules didn't mention a cure," Tyler admitted.

"What about one of the other werewolves?" Caroline asked, hopefully. "maybe they'd know something?"

"Maybe," Tyler agreed.

"Alright I'll call the yard and you go and get Jules' phone," Caroline said.

Tyler gaped at her, disbelief running through him at her words. At what she was asking him to do. He could still see the trails of mascara or eyeliner or whatever had run down her cheeks when she'd cried. It clung to her skin, even as the veins underneath her eyes darkened and swelled. As uncomfortable as he was with the idea of a crying girl turning to him for comfort, suddenly he was far more uncomfortable with the idea of leaving said girl. Especially if that girl happened to be Caroline Forbes.

"No."

"No?" Caroline repeated, raising her eyebrows in disbelief, "Tyler-"

"I'm not leaving you," he said, cutting her off, "my bite probably isn't even affecting him that much yet and-"

"Tyler," Caroline cut him off this time, the tone in her voice making it clear she wasn't going to listen to the bullshit reasons he was giving her, "I know you don't like Damon. But too many people have died already," her fingers brushed the back of his hand, "you can save one of them."

Tyler opened his mouth but failed to speak when her fingers gently slid between his. The touch was gentle, but Tyler felt as if cold sparks were moving across his skin. Caroline smiled gently at him, gesture made oddly more beautiful by the vampiric traits that graced her features. He did not want to go to help Damon, especially not if the need wasn't dire. Even if it was he knew he'd rather see the Vampire die a slow and painful death. But Caroline looked up at him and with an oddly absent feeling of self disgust, Tyler realized he was one eyelash bat away from doing whatever the hell she wanted.

He didn't realize he'd nodded until she beamed at him and his heart did a leap of joy. Her fingers tightened around his before she slid her hand back. Tyler blinked, trying to figure out how he had just agreed to take a step to Damon Salvatore. Looking down at the sunglasses in his hand, he resisted the urge to cringe at the thought of entering the car again when he realized he could take his mother's SUV instead. Hell he could take his own car, since he'd drive off with Jules. Feeling oddly better he looked up at Caroline.

"Just be quick, okay?" she pleaded.

"There's sunlight all over the hall," he said, "so you should just, uh, hang out in here," he said glancing around the room, "TV's in the cabinet, remote's on top," he rambled, thinking if there was anything else, "hang on," he walked over to his desk and rooted around, finding a pad of post its and a pen. He scribbled down Jules's phone number, "here," he said handing her the note, "my phone's gone," he explained, "but once I've got Jules's phone, you can get me on that."

"Okay," Caroline said, "I'll call the yard to tell them you're coming."

"No," Tyler said, "I'll find another way in," Caroline frowned, "I don't want to risk your mom finding out."

"Right," Caroline said, trying not to feel utterly useless as the one thing she thought she could do to help slipped away, "of course."

Tyler looked at her unsurely and Caroline forced her face to be confident and not a second from another outburst of tears. Tyler had to believe that she was going to be okay when he left to go and help Damon. He seemed to be hesitating and Caroline could only pray he'd take what she was saying and go. That he hadn't yet figured out what 'hysterical Vampire chick' smelled like. The werewolf looked away, turning his head as he glanced around the room as if checking for something before looking back at her.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," he said. Caroline nodded, "and I'll check on Bonnie," he added.

Caroline nodded quickly, trying not to sob at the reminder of why she'd called the hospital in the first place. Tyler opened his mouth to say something but before either of them could get a word out, the doorbell below rang. Caroline's eyes widened at the authoritarian knock that echoed through, the knock of someone who was used to having the door opened for them.

And then, before either of them could move, the door was unlocked and opened.

"Hello?" the familiar sound of Sheriff Forbes's voice called into the house, "is anyone home?"

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**Reviews are love!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the delay! I got distracted with a Forwood oneshot i'm writing that involves Tyler's third full moon. **

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Everything in Caroline simultaneously went rigid with fear and ached with pain at the sound of her mom's voice.

Tyler felt horror flood his system. He had moved Caroline right into the arms of her mother, who needed only to open the blinds to get all the proof she needed. Caroline looked petrified and saddened and completely frozen on the spot. Tyler couldn't blame her, if his mother was hunting him then Tyler imagined he'd react in the same way. Casting his eyes around, he tried desperately to see a way out but the only thing he could think of was covering her in a blanket and running for the car again. But he didn't think he could get her past her mother from the second floor.

Caroline on the other hand, jerked out of her stupor. Her eyes flew around the room before they landed on the bed. An idea formed in her head as she looked at the broad expanse of Tyler's shoulders. It was ludicrous and dependent on a motherly instinct Caroline wasn't entirely certain her mother possessed. But it was the only idea he had.

"Uh, get on the bed," she whispered, Tyler stared at her uncomprehendingly, "Tyler! Get on the bed, turn on your side."

Caroline hurried over to the bed and yanked back the sheets, lying down on the mattress. Tyler hesitated, turning towards the door and looking as though he wanted to run. Or fight her mother. Or really do anything but lay down on the bed next to her. Caroline rolled her eyes and pushed herself up on her elbows, glaring at Tyler.

"Tyler, come on!" she hissed, "if you lay on your side you'll be big enough to hide me."

"But your mom knows what I am," Tyler protested.

"Yes but she doesn't hate you," Caroline hissed, "you're her best friends son. As far as she knows you're just an exhausted, uh, werewolf," Tyler still looked skeptical, "Tyler she's your mother's best friend. She barely yells at you, it's not like she's going to kill you in your sleep!"

The sound of feet on stairs spurred him into action. Tyler darted over to the bed with all the grace and silence of a boy whose mother didn't like him sneaking in and out of the house. Sliding into bed he yanked the sheets up over her head and turned on his side. Caroline rolled onto her side and tried to make herself as small as possible. Caroline reached up and grabbed the sunglasses off his eyes. Tyler's eyes were still wide and open and still, unfortunately, still gold.

"Lay there, close your eyes," Caroline ordered sternly before disappearing back underneath the sheets.

Caroline pressed her face against his chest under the sheets as the sound of her mom's boots got closer to the door. Underneath the covers she felt Tyler's fingers tighten on her shoulder in response, but his heart remained at it's steady tempo. The door opened with a groan. Caroline bit back on the squeak of fear that fought to escape her lips, instead focusing on not gasping for air. She tried to pretend that the boots that moved across the floor did not belong to her mother, who had held her for three days straight when her father left. Who brushed her hair and taught her how to use mascara before any of her friends. Who had been so proud of what she had become the first time that she learned of it.

The boots hesitated as her mother looked over at Tyler's sleeping form and for a second Caroline wondered if she had been horribly wrong. She could picture her mother's hand going for her gun, ready to shoot Tyler. She wasn't a scared child either, she would kill him. It was impossible to relax but she knew she couldn't tense up. If she did then Tyler would and her mother would know something was up. She was coming closer to the bed, Caroline could hear it

Then, by some miracle, her mother moved back. Slowly her boots began to retreat before the door closed in that perfectly silently, comforting way that only mothers seemed to be able to do. Caroline let a breath she didn't know she had been holding against the skin of his chest, her shoulder pressing into his body.

Tyler winced as her shoulder pressed against his ribs.

"Sorry," she whispered, "did I-"

"No, my ribs," he explained, "they're a sore spot with changing."

"Oh," she looked up at him, her hand still resting on the side of his chest. Feeling oddly bold, she slid her hand underneath his shirt and splayed her fingers across his ribs. His eyes closed as a sigh of pure relief escaped his lips, "better?" she asked shyly.

"Fuck, you have no idea," he said.

Caroline listened, pushing aside the sound of his heart and focusing on her mother's continued search of the house. Tyler seemed to be listening as well, until Caroline realized he was actually nodding off. Caroline bit her lip, feeling his lungs pick up a steady rhythm as he fell further asleep. They had so much to do but as she watched the stress on his face begin to give way to sleep, she realized she could give him five minutes of 'nap time' before she roused him to work on everything they had to do.

Unconsciously he shifted closer to her. Caroline pressed her body firmly against his, knowing that everything depended on him being on his side so her mother couldn't see her body. A sleepy sound of protest escaped his lips but he stilled under her touch as she shifted her arm so more of her cool skin was pressed against his feverish one. Still curled under the sheets, she listened intently, apprehensive about her mother walking through the house and comforted by the steady beat of Tyler's heart.

She listened as her mother came back through the house before leaving, closing the door behind her and turning the lock for good measure. Caroline bit her lip and glanced up at Tyler's face. Tyler was one of those rare people who seemed incapable of looking serene. Even when sleeping he looked a heartbeat from leaping to his feet and kicking someone's ass. Maybe it was a werewolf thing, because for as long as she'd known Tyler he'd looked that way. Shifting closer to wake him up, Caroline hesitated when the arm that was around her shoulder slid down to her back and pulled her closer to him.

Closing her eyes tightly, Caroline focused her thoughts on Bonnie who was fighting for her life, on Damon who was probably loosing the battle for his. On all the things that were wrong that needed to be fixed and not how being cuddled against him was the first time she'd felt truly warm since turning into a Vampire. Gently she reached up and tapped his cheek. His brow furrowed, a look of displeasure coming to his face before brown eyes peeped open in irritation and then blinked in surprise.

"Shit, I didn't-" he went to turn and then looked down at her, "is she-"

"Yes," Caroline said, "she's left. I didn't hear her call for backup or anything."

Tyler nodded, his hand reluctantly leaving her waist to press into the bed as he pushed himself up. Caroline let her hand slide away from his heated skin as he moved. Without warning his arm buckled. Caroline's hands flew out to press into his shoulders, holding him upright. His eyes widened as embarrassment made his cheeks flush and suddenly Caroline wished she'd been a little slower.

"Sorry I-"

"It's okay-"

They both froze as their voices overlapped, his apology and her reassurance mingling together and falling away at the realization that while her hands were holding his upper body, the rest of their bodies were most certainly not separated. It was the second time that had happened but the drapes were secure and instead of being on the floor, Caroline was on his bed. Underneath him. With her soft lips readily parted. For the first time in a very long time, being a werewolf wasn't at the forefront of Tyler's mind. Or even in the middle of it. All his thoughts seemed to be squarely on the fact that there was a very incredible, very _hot_ girl underneath him and just for a moment Tyler Lockwood felt like a regular seventeen year old boy.

Then the memory of their last kiss came rushing back to him.

Forcing strength into his arms, Tyler pushed himself up with a muttered apology and got to his feet, leaving Caroline laying on the bed fighting not to groan with disappointment. He'd been a second from kissing her. Caroline _knew_ it and yet he'd pulled back at the last minute. The amount of disappointment that seemed to ache in her chest stole her breath away. Slowly she pushed herself up and onto her knees, reaching up and tucking a lock of hair behind her ear as her eyes remained firmly on the sheets under her knees.

"You should go see about Jules' phone," she said quietly.

"What?" the disbelief in his voice made her head fly up, "no. No way am I leaving you. What if your mom comes back? You're trapped in here."

"Tyler, Bonnie could be dead. Damon _will_ be dead if we don't find a way to stop this," she said.

"Screw Damon," Tyler spat, "we'll wait five minutes and I'll call my mom's room and get her to find out."

Caroline's eyes widened at the solution. She'd forgotten Tyler's mom had been pushed down the stairs and was in the same hospital as Bonnie. It wouldn't be suspicious at all for Tyler to call his mom and Caroline would bet the new daylight ring she was going to have to get that Mrs. Lockwood knew everything, including how Bonnie was. In fact, she probably knew as much as Mr. Bennet, though the truth was she shouldn't.

"That might work," she said slowly.

Tyler nodded, crossing his arms over his chest and glancing around to check the windows were all securely covered. Caroline shifted her weight, bringing her legs forward and stretching out on the sheets. Tyler continued to stand against the wall as if he was afraid of what might happen if he got on the bed. After a painfully silent few minutes Tyler pushed himself away from the wall.

"I'm gonna go call the hospital. It's probably better if I use the house phone," he explained.

"You don't have a phone in here?" Caroline asked.

"No, it always," he trailed off with a hesitant smile, "uh, it always woke me up. Even from downstairs."

Caroline felt her lips quirk up in response before Tyler moved away from the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Scooting back against the headboard, Caroline wrapped her arms around her knees and drew them up to her chest, resting her chin on top of them. Things were so messed up she knew the very last thing she should be thinking about was kissing Tyler. But it was difficult given that the he had managed to lay on top of her twice in the past few hours. Firmly pushing the thoughts aside, Caroline looked around the room, idly wondering what Tyler would think if he knew she'd snuck up there once.

It had been during a party at the Lockwood mansion for something she couldn't quite remember. She'd still been furious at Tyler for what he had done and coming back from the powder room she had stopped by his bedroom door. Feeling oddly like a kid, she'd slipped into the room, half expecting to find him stretched out on the bed or doing whatever else Tyler Lockwood did in his free time. The room had been perfectly empty and orderly, no sign of the young man's disappearance or the events that had led to it.

The idea that everything that happened could be so easily erased had made her head spin and she had sunk unsteadily onto the bed which she now sat. Worst of all was the fact that Tyler was not neat and he certainly did not smell like cleaning products. On some level she had known he was gone but it wasn't until that moment that she realized she might miss him more than she was angry at him. And that she was just as upset at the fact he ran off without a goodbye as the fact that he had abandoned her to his werewolf friends.

"Caroline?" he knocked even before he entered his own room, reminding her that he was back and alive.

"Yes?" Caroline turned to the door.

"I talked to my mom," he said, "Bonnie's in surgery, the doctors are working on her but it might be a while before they know anything for sure," Caroline nodded, "I asked my mom to call if she heard anything new," he added.

"Thanks," she said, "hows your mom?"

"Healing," Tyler said, "I think I've only got a few days before she starts asking questions," he shook his head, "I don't know what I'm going to tell her."

Caroline gave the best smile she could but knew it was faulty. Belatedly Tyler realized that he'd somehow managed to touch on the sorest subject. Shaking his head he walked over to the bed and sat down next to her. Caroline tightened her grip on her knees and rested her cheek on them as Tyler sat back against the headboard next to her.

"Do you know what you're going to do?" he asked.

"I guess I'll just take away her vervain supply, wait for it to get out of her system and compel her again."

"Again?" Tyler looked at her.

"Did I mention that I've had to compel her twice?" Caroline asked with a weak smile, "I guess I'm the last person you should be asking for parental advice."

"I wouldn't say that," Tyler said with a smile.

Caroline looked over at him with a hopeful smile that made Tyler's blood boil with the desire to find her mother, Matt and whoever else made her unhappy. As much as he thought she deserved to not have people like him in her life, he realized that if he was going to break every bone n Matt's body and make sure her mother stopped taking vervain because of pure fear, he was going to have to stick around. Carefully Tyler reached out and slid his arm around her shoulder. Caroline loosened her grip around her knees and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"I can't believe today is still today," Caroline admitted softly, "so much has happened."

"Yeah," Tyler agreed quietly.

Caroline looked down at her hands and the ring that no longer graced her finger. She was effectively trapped in the Lockwood home. In Tyler's bedroom. Normally the thought would have made her blush to the roots of her hair but even after their almost kiss with everything going on it just made her feel helpless. And if there was one thing that Caroline truly hated it was feeling helpless. Especially when she knew that if she just had her ring she could help. Or at least be there. Instead she was trapped in the room while Bonnie fought for her life and Damon suffered.

"Its cool if you hide out here for a few days," Tyler offered after a moment of silence, "I mean I can get a guest room ready for you," he said, cutting himself off before he could suggest that she spend the time in his bedroom, "if you want."

"Thanks Tyler," Caroline said quietly, though which thing she was thanking him for he had no idea.

Tyler leaned his head back against the headboard. Caroline shifted her head against his shoulder, her body fitting neatly against his side. She was careful not to put weight on his body, but he didn't seem to mind her head against his shoulder. This time even though his heart beat was steady and his breath was even his eyes remained open. He didn't want to fall asleep again in case Caroline's mom came back. Or his mother called. Or Matt dared to show his face.

"Hey, Tyler?" Caroline asked softly, "where did you go while you were away?"

"I went to Florida," Tyler said, "thats where Mason and the others spent a lot of time."

"Florida?" Caroline asked, "isn't that kind of hot for werewolves?"

"There is air conditioning in Florida," Tyler pointed out, "and they moved around a lot."

"Do werewolves do that?" she asked, "move around a lot?"

"Yeah," Tyler said, "the killing makes it hard to stay in one place for a while."

Caroline tightened her arm around his chest.

"But you didn't," she pointed out.

"I could have," Tyler replied darkly.

"But you didn't," Caroline said lifting her head up and looking at him, "you could have and you didn't," Tyler looked away, "Tyler," Caroline laid her hand on his shoulder, "you didn't hurt me and you didn't hurt Matt. I know how hard that was."

"Care-" he sighed, "it shouldn't be hard. I shouldn't want to eat people, especially not-" he stopped, "not my friends," he finished.

"I know," Caroline said looking down before meeting his eyes with her own, "I know it shouldn't be hard. But it is. And sometimes the best that we can do is act like a human, even if we can't be one," he looked at her doubtfully, "you think I don't want to bite you every time you blush?" he opened his mouth but she quickly continued, "but I don't."

"Is that why you make that sound?" he asked.

"That sound?" Caroline looked at him.

"Yeah, sometimes you let out this breath and you make this sound-" he trailed off as Caroline blushed a brilliant shade of red and buried her face in her hands, "shit, sorry, I didn't mean-" he fumbled for the right apology.

"No, no you're right," Caroline said, lowering her hands, "it's a trick Stefan told me. When I first saw my Vampire face I freaked out and Stefan taught me how to help control my Vampire face," she said, "but," she continued, "sometimes its harder to control than others."

"Like when people blush?"

"Sometimes," Caroline said. Tyler looked at her expectantly, "or if I'm hungry, or upset or, you know, if I like a person," she added quickly.

"So wanting to suck someone's blood is like, what? The ultimate Vampire flirt?"

"That is not funny," Caroline said punching his arm lightly, "but when that happens, I just tell myself that I'm going to get through it. That no matter how good it will feel, I'm strong enough to push it away," she shrugged, "and it gets easier with time. Look at how much better you did this time with your transformation"

Tyler nodded. Even though they had seen each other at their most not-human, it was hard to think of Caroline as being a moment's notice from lunging forward and sinking her teeth into his jugular. Frowning he looked over at her.

"Can you?" he asked. Caroline looked at him curiously, "can you drink my blood? I mean I know if I bite you it's a problem but isn't that with my spit?"

"Yes, Tyler, the venom's in your saliva," Caroline said, "but it's not like I want to bite you," she said. He raised an eyebrow, "well even if I do that's beside the point. Because I won't. This," she said motioning between their bodies, "is a no biting zone," he raised his eyebrows, "seriously, promise me. No biting."

He was surprised at the stab of panic he saw in her eyes. But what she was afraid of he didn't know. Maybe it was him biting her, her biting him but Tyler had a strange feeling it was more to do with the latter. He wanted to question her further but instead he found himself nodding, doing whatever he had to to get that panic stricken look off her face.

"Okay, no biting," he said, "promise," he added as she looked at him hard for a moment before nodding, seemingly satisfied with his sincerity, "but I don't find it weird or anything," he added, "the Vampire thing."

Caroline looked over at him.

"Thanks," she said, her eyes softening before she straightened up, "should you get some rest? Your mom said she'd call if anything changed and there's no point in you getting run down when there's nothing we can do."

"Hey, I'm okay," Tyler protested.

"_Tyler_," Caroline sighed, "you sound like a kid asking to stay up past his bed time," she grinned, "though you know with that long hair of yours," she began.

Tyler shot her a look and Caroline's smile widened at his distaste.

"I get it, I need a haircut," he said with a roll of his eyes, pushing himself to his feet and walking over to the cabinet, opening the doors to reveal a tv before grabbing the remote and walking back over to where she was laying, "I'm probably going to pass out. No sense in you being bored."

Caroline accepted the remote with a smile, scooting back to her original spot on the bed as Tyler settled next to her. Clicking on the tv, she idly scrolled through the channels.

"Your hair matches the wolf's you know," she said quietly. Tyler turned to look at her, "the first time I didn't really see but this time," she glanced over at him, "your fur is the same color as your hair."

Tyler looked at her. This was the first time Caroline had mentioned 'the wolf' and his fur. Jules had warned him that the last thing to do would be to get in the habit of thinking of himself and his werewolf form as two different things. Two separate entities. If the wolf killed, he killed. The wolf hunted, he hunted. They were the same thing. He had hated the idea that he'd have to be connected even further to the creature he turned into once a month.

Hated it until he realized that she was kind of right.

Being a werewolf had defined him for his entire life. His anger, his athleticism, even his inability to stomach his father's need for dominance could all be traced back to being a werewolf. It wasn't so much that killing Sarah had changed his life and made him into a new person. More than killing her and triggering the curse had made him into what he was always supposed to be. As much as he hated it, having an explanation somehow made things better.

"Huh," he frowned, "that's weird," he continued, "Mason's was grey," he explained at Caroline's puzzled look, "so was Jules's fur."

"Maybe they don't have blonde wolves," Caroline offered, her head settling on his shoulder, "I'll take a picture next time and show you."

"Caroline," he began.

Caroline lifted her head and looked at him, hating the note in his voice. The suggestion that maybe he wasn't going to be around at the next full moon.

"What?" she demanded, her eyes searching his face, "you're not leaving again are you?"

"Huh? No," he shook his head, "but you can't stay with me during the transformation."

"Why not?"

"Are you serious? I keep trying to kill you. I could barely control myself this time."

"But you did," Caroline pointed out, "and you got the bullet out of me without killing me."

"Yeah, barely," Tyler said, "when I turn I want to kill everything. We've had two close calls, we can't risk a third," he continued.

"So what?" Caroline demanded, "I'm just supposed to chain you up and be all 'have a nice full moon Tyler' and leave you in the cellar? No way. We haven't even found chains strong enough to hold you! And now you aren't taking wolfs bane either?" she shook her head, "I'm not leaving you down there alone."

Tyler pushed himself off the bed and looked at the Vampire. Caroline rose to her feet as well, looking at him as if the request to leave him alone when he turned was insane. When really it was perfectly logical, for one simple reason.

"Damn it Caroline, I already bit Damon. Next time it could be you!"

"No," Caroline said shaking her head, refusal on her face, "it won't be me. You stayed with me that whole night. You protected me from Matt."

"This time," he said, "I already abandoned you once," he stopped as Caroline's eyes widened, surprise and hurt written all over her face. He realized he brought up the last thing she needed to hear after the night she had, "I hate that I hurt you," he admitted finally, "and I can't stand the thought that I'd do it again."

Caroline stared at him, her eyes wide and surprised. It wasn't so much that he had brought up the one thing she wished that he hadn't, the very thing she'd been trying to ignore. It was the fact that he had admitted what he had done was wrong, that it had hurt her and that he didn't want to hurt her again. The pain in her chest was terrible, but what was worse was how easily she remembered the feeling of him hesitating, of him choosing the wolves he had just met over the person who had stuck by him. Who he had pressed against the door and kissed senseless.

"Then don't," she said, her voice soft.

Tyler gaped at her like she had grown a second head, as if he couldn't believe what she was saying. Like how he had looked at her when she had explained that she cared more about him than the chance he'd bite her. The surprise on his face was actually heartbreaking, the disbelief that someone would care that much.

"I don't get it," he said with a shake of his head, "after what I did you said-" he hesitated, "you said we weren't friends."

"I was upset," Caroline said, "but I didn't mean that," she ducked her head, "you've never had a girl be that mad at you before, have you?"

"Not one I care enough to want to stop being mad at me," he admitted.

"Well next time instead of stealing my phone and skipping town, you could bring me bourbon or flowers and apologize properly," she said, "and I'll keep in mind that you're a seventeen year old boy," Tyler rolled his eyes, "girls mature faster. It's a scientific fact," Caroline said crossing her arms.

"Okay okay," Tyler held up his hands, "bourbon or flowers, got it."

"And no skipping town," she said, steering him back to the most important point.

"Yeah," he agreed, "no skipping town."

Caroline nodded, satisfied and returned to the bed, intent on not having either of them get up from it until Mrs. Lockwood called with news on Bonnie. If there was a chance in hell she would be able to get Tyler to leave to see if Jules had a cell phone in the car, she would take it. But the werewolf was adamant that he was staying there. She was more grateful to him for staying than she would care to admit.

It took him a minute to join her on the bed, cautiously as if he too could sense there would be a good chance they'd jump up to either help or fight. But eventually he settled next to her and her head found its way onto his shoulder once again, her body tucked against the side of his chest. Caroline smiled faintly at how well they fit back together, even after continuing to jump apart. It was strange, twisted but she knew that if anyone like her mom she could count on him to protect her.

"I am sorry," he said quietly.

"I forgive you," she replied.

* * *

**Next time they take steps towards saving Damon, Bonnie's fate is revealed and who knows? Maybe these two will finally make out. **

**Please Review! **


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